Granola Cookies

I started off my morning yesterday with my favorite breakfast of cottage cheese, yogurt, fruit and some granola.  I was looking at the back of the box for the granola and saw a recipe for cookies.  They sounded too good to pass up so Rilo and I made them together.  Well, Rilo watched while I made them.  They have a nice texture and just a touch of the maple flavor.  The recipe called for nuts, but I'm not a fan of nuts in cookies...so I added chocolate chips instead.

Granola Cookies

1 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 c granola (I use Cascadian Farm Organic Granola Maple Brown Sugar)

optional: chocolate chips, nuts

Combine butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs until creamy.  Add in flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix in granola and chocolate chips (or nuts).   Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Delicious!

"Heavenly" Cupcakes

First I will tell you that there is nothing nutrionally good about these cupcakes.  But secondly I will say they are soooo worth it.  Everything in moderation, right?  Try these out for your next party...they are a definite winner.

Heavenly White Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cupcakes
Cupcake:
1 box yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c water
1pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1/2 c butter

Combine ingredients and scoop into cupcake liners.  Fill about half full.

Filling:
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
dash of salt
white chocolate chips

Drop a tablespoon of filling into each cupcake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Cool and frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting.  Then pass out from their goodness.  Enjoy!

Fruit

I took some photos yesterday of some fruit that I picked up at this little produce market down the road. It has great produce for dirt cheap...10 peaches for $1!  I love summer for all of it's fresh fruits!  Yum!

And speaking of food, I want to make homemade bread...Do you have any recipes you love?  I've only ever made banana bread.  Please share if you do!

C is for Cookie

{image via Stephmodo}

If you know me, you know that I love anything dessert. Especially cookies. And I'm realllly choosy about my cookies. I would say I'm a cookie snob. I'm always trying out different cookie recipes to find "the best" one. Well, I think I finally found it! Stephmodo posted the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and I had to try them. I even messed them up and they were still awesome! They are soft and bake up perfectly (which is often a problem I have since we are at such a high altitude).

How do you mess them up you ask? Well, you rush making them while you have a sleeping baby who you know is about to wake, and you grab the Maple flavoring instead of vanilla and just dump it right on in. Oops! But, they were still great...even with that slight hint of maple. (I also woke up the next morning after making them smelling maple syrup and could not for the life of me figure out where it was coming from. Well, it turns out the smell from the flavoring does not wash off your hands very well!)

This is taken off of the Cafe Zupas blog.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs (room temp if possible)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (feel free to throw in the whole bag if you like them super chocolate-y…why not?)

Cream butter, brown sugar and white sugar together in a mixer. Then add the eggs, one at a time. Beat until creamy. Add the vanilla.

In another bowl mix the dry ingredients together before slowly adding them to the creamed mixture. When combined, stop the mixer and add the semi-sweet chips. Mix up and then drop by the teaspoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Mold them into a ball as best as you can with the spoon for a more shaped cookie.

Bake on 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Take them out of the oven and allow the cookies to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes. Then, carefully place the cookies on a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

And now that I have way over-hyped our bathroom by delaying it so much and talking about it endlessly, I will be posting it in a few hours! Check back in to see the small makeover!

Stromboli Recipe

Or Stramboni, as Adam calls it. I never had Stromboli until I moved to Pennsylvania...so if you're wondering what the heck it is, you are most likely not from the east coast! Stromboli is a pizza-like dish, close to a calzone. And guess what? It is so so soooo easy to make. This is my go-to quick dish. About 5 minutes of prep time and about 15 minutes of cooking time. Easy I tell you!

Here's what you need:
1 pkg. pizza dough (or french loaf dough)
your choice of sliced cheeses
your choice of meat
your choice of veggies
olive oil
Italian seasoning

This time I used mozzarella, provolone ham and pepperoni. You really can use whatever you want/have on hand. Salami, canadian bacon, sausage can be added for you meat lovers, or for a vegetarian option, try broccoli, peppers and cheese.


First step is to unroll the pizza dough to a rectangle shape onto a cookie sheet.


Next lay down your first layer of cheese down the middle, lengthwise.


Then add your meat (or veggies or both) on top of the cheese layer.


Another round of cheese on top.


Fold and pinch your seams together down the middle and on the sides.


Flip it over so the seam is touching the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle Italian seasoning to your liking. Cut a few small slits in the top.


Then bake according to the packaged dough. My oven works fast, so I only cook it for about 13 minutes until it's nice and golden brown. Slice on a diagonal and serve. I always dip mine in a spaghetti sauce and serve it with some salad. Delicious!